IDF: Gaza Paramedic Killed in Rioting Was ‘No Angel of Mercy’

Razan Najjar, who was killed during rioting at the Gaza border last Friday, was “not the angel of mercy” Hamas has made her out to be, the IDF spokesperson said Thursday. In fact, she herself participated in the rioting; the IDF released footage showing her throwing a tear gas grenade in the direction of Israeli soldiers.

Najjar, 21, was killed in a riot near Khan Yunis. She had been a fixture at recent riots, providing field first aid for rioters who were injured after they attempted to storm the border fence or attack Israeli soldiers. A large funeral was held for her over the weekend, and Hamas used her death to accuse Israel of targeting innocent medical personnel.

But the footage released by the IDF showed her laughing and cavorting with Hamas terrorists. When one offers her a tear gas grenade, she is seen happily accepting it and lobbing it at Israeli soldiers. In a social media post accompanying the footage, the IDF spokesperson wrote that the image that Hamas is using to “market her as an angel of mercy is inaccurate. She admits by her actions that she was merely a human shield for Hamas, which uses large numbers of Gazans for its purposes. Do paramedics elsewhere in the world throw grenades and join riots?”

An IDF investigation after the incident indicates that Najjar was not targeted directly by Israeli fire. Very few live bullets were fired in the particular riot in which she died. Officials theorized that she might have been killed when a bullet shell bounced off an object and struck her in a sensitive spot that led to a great deal of bleeding. The investigation into the cause of death is continuing, the army said.